The building inspectors will be architects – civil engineers and will have the responsibility of checking construction works. They will be selected from the ETEK register.
From 1/7/2024, when the reform of Local Self-Government comes into effect, the issuing of planning and building permits will be undertaken by the Provincial Self-Government Organizations, under whose responsibility will be added, the Water Supply, the Sewerage Boards and the management of urban of waste.
With the aim, on the one hand, of not overwhelming the newly established Provincial Self-Government Organizations with thousands of applications, and on the other hand, of modernizing the existing procedures by introducing a more flexible licensing framework that will reduce the time for examining applications, the Ministry of the Interior in collaboration with ETEK decided the adoption of 22 measures, of which the following stand out:
Cancellation of planning and building permit. This is the biggest change being pushed for which legislation is required. This measure aims to abolish the obligation to secure a planning and building permit for low-risk developments, that is, houses and apartment buildings with up to 12 apartments. A bill that is currently being prepared by the Ministry of the Interior in collaboration with ETEK introduces the institution of the "Construction Inspector", who will take responsibility for the correctness and completeness of the studies.
Based on what has been decided so far, the building inspectors will be architects and civil engineers and will be selected from the ETEK register that will be created for this purpose. Building inspectors will conduct a post-mortem inspection at each phase of a project. Controls should be impartial in order to complete the projects in accordance with the architectural plans – studies and the existing legislation. In cases where arbitrary constructions are found, the building inspectors should inform the competent urban planning authorities in order to stop construction work until the illegal works are removed. In the event that he does not detect the illegal construction works or turns a blind eye to them, the building inspector will be faced with a fine of tens of thousands of euros and with disciplinary procedures for the removal of the license to practice the profession.
The bill of the Ministry of the Interior that will soon be submitted to the Parliament for a vote will also include the certification form that the building inspectors will have to complete, thus certifying that the projects under their control are progressing well. The method of remuneration of building inspectors is still the subject of discussion between the ministry and ETEK.
Consultations with other government agencies. Since last November, with a circular from the director of the Department of Urban Planning, the process of conducting the required consultations with state services such as the Fire Department, Water Development Department, Department of Public Works and EAC has been changed. Consultations are now carried out in advance to limit delays in the examination of applications.
Additionally, with the full operation of the "IPPODAMOS" information system of the Department of Urban Planning and Housing, these consultations will be able to be ensured electronically, reducing even more the time for examining applications by the Urban Planning Authorities.
Removal of signature requirement. It concerns the abolition of the requirement to sign agreements between applicants and the Town Planning Authority for services such as the acquisition of parking spaces and public green space, siting of RES and mobile phone antennas, etc. The aim is to speed up the examination and issuance of planning permits. The relevant amendments are promoted.
Presentation of external demarcation certificate. From 1/1/2024 it is a prerequisite to secure an external demarcation certificate. The measure aims to correctly submit requests to the ground database.
Urban development permit. It was found that during the examination of urban planning applications, problems arise due to the submission of the application without the commitments being known (widening of roads, opening of a new road network, concession of public green space) as a result of which long delays are observed. From 1/1/2024, applications for the granting of a planning permit for the development of lots will be accepted only after securing a planning permit for land development. The aim of this measure is to facilitate the examination of a planning application for development by determining the commitments in advance. With the assumption of urban planning control by the District Self-Government Organizations and given the expertise required to prepare road network plans, advance planning will solve part of the licensing so that the District Self-Government Organizations are not overburdened at the start of operation their.
Examination of applications for which there is a delay on the part of applicants/students. During the examination of urban applications for development, many difficulties arise due to the fact that the applications are either submitted with incomplete data or without including required special studies, such as environmental impact studies, Energy Agency certificates for the energy efficiency of coke buildings, or are submitted with long delay by the researchers because the plans were requested to be modified after the application was studied. From now on, as many applications are submitted with deficiencies or a modification of the plans is requested and after informing the applicants/designers there is no response, the Town Planning Authorities will proceed to make a decision based on the data before them without further delay, which affects the examination of the remaining applications.
Resolving building factor disputes. Problems of interpretation and disagreements between the Town Planning Authorities and the designers constantly arise on how to calculate the building factor in large developments and it has been found that today the 10 Town Planning Authorities apply certain provisions differently. The Ministry of the Interior and ETEK decided to simplify the way the building factor is calculated so that it does not affect the quality of the development. By next March, a relevant circular is expected to be issued for the new way of calculating the building factor.
Policy Statement and Local Plans. Substantial differences were found in the consideration of planning applications to owners within Local Plan boundaries and in the Policy Statement causing delays in permitting. As part of the comprehensive amendment of the Policy Statement, a partial amendment will be promoted to simplify and speed up the licensing system.
Road network planning in areas where strong development pressures are observed by private architects . The aim is to facilitate researchers in the preparation of studies, the faster processing of applications from the Provincial Self-Government Organizations and the improvement of spatial planning. Relevant decisions are expected within February 2024.
Education and training of staff and researchers . Preparation of a training plan for the members of ETEK who will be registered in the register of building inspectors as well as the staff of the Department of Town Planning who will be hired, a total of 105 employees, to support the District Self-Government Organizations so that they are sufficiently qualified and trained for the correct submission and examination of the applications. The 105 employees will be employed on two-year contracts until the District Local Government Organizations are able to hire their own staff. Initially, they will be staffed by employees of the municipalities to which they belong as well as by the employees of the sewerage and water supply boards. Out of the 105, 30 have already been recruited and yesterday was their first day of training.
Manual preparation. A working group of the co-competent government departments began the development of a manual for the implementation of common forms and procedures for examining urban planning applications by all Provincial Self-Governing Organizations. The manual will also include other procedures for which a Town Planning Authority is responsible, such as identifying problems in Development Plans, sessions to solve problems in Local Authorities, etc. The purpose of the measure is to implement uniform procedures and practices in order to end practices that unjustifiably created time-consuming bureaucratic procedures and caused delays in deployments.